No written or oral records exist of an organized educational system in the pre-Inca cultures. However, the demonstrated level of evolution of these cultures indirectly suggests the existence of an educational system. Each culture developed an ideal way of training people for their own competitive interests and particular specializations. Such training and education could explain the metalwork, ceramics, and textiles that have survived to this day, which were produced with techniques which had been passed down and perfected, and have unfortunately been lost with the conquering of many other cultures.

Formal education according to Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (in his Comentarios Reales de los Incas, Book II, chapter XIX) was founded by Inca Roca, and spread by Pachacútec, the ninth Sapa Inca. This education was exclusively designed for the royal elite, and later for the sons of conquered chiefs. At this level, they were educated to become administrators and leaders. The teachers were Amautas, men well-versed in philosophy and morality. The education was strict and punishment was used. The curriculum was based in mathematics and astronomy, both necessary for an economic system based in agriculture. Learning Quechua was mandatory, more for political than educational reasons.

In the colony, it was deemed necessary to instruct the conquered people in the doctrines of Roman Catholicism, and transform them into loyal subjects. They began re-educating the native adults and providing instruction to the children and youth, indoctrinating and educating them in the rudiments of European social life to use them to benefit the State. This was called elementary education, as there were other institutes, such as the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (founded on May 12, 1551), which was accessible only to those of the aristocratic class, people with political and economic power; "middle school," where they educated the Creoles, Mestizos, and some wealthy merchants; and "colegio de caciques" (or "college of chiefs"), which was established in 1536 and ran until it was abolished by Simón Bolívar. However, the native population in general did not have access to formal education, only informal education. The education of the time was predominantly religious, and run by different religious orders and priests.

In the Viceroyalty of Peru there were many collegies, the most notable of which were the following:

Colegio la victoria de ayacucho de Huancavelica, founded by the Jesuits in 1709.

Colegio de la Villa de Moquega, founded in 1711 by the Jesuits.

Colegio de Ica, founded in 1719 by the Jesuits.

Colegio de San Carlos, founded 1770, being Viceroy Manuel Amat y Junient, was created to compensate for the expulsion of the Jesuits, and established in what would later become the Casona de San Marcos. It was in this college that Don Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza y Fray Diego Cisneros would begin the movement for educational reform.

This education begins from age three, and exists to maximize the periods of a child's development in which a child easily assimilates determined learning. It is important to know how to focus the educational effort for each stage of a child's development to offer the greatest benefit and opportunities. In early education, the child controls his or her own learning with the assistance of internal and external agents which offer optimal conditions for realizing his or her capabilities.

The objective of early education is to promote the development of the child through a rights-based approach with the involvement of the parents (internal agents), people close to the child, educators (external agents), implementing early education centres with strategies based on free play and the role of children.

The student begins in the first cycle, which consists of the first and second grade. The age of the children entering this stage of their education is six years. This level begins at first grade, and ends with sixth grade and is divided, for curricular purposes, into three cycles: cycle one (first and second grade), cycle two (third and fourth grade), and cycle three (fifth and sixth grade); after sixth grade, the student passes on to secondary school. Additionally, there are decision-making systems available for the parents to determine.

Secondary school consists of five years, from first to fifth year. Pupils are taught a wide range of subjects, including Peruvian history, world history, physics, biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, English as a foreign language, literature, etc.

Higher education in Peru consists of technological colleges, both public and private. They offer courses lasting three years (approximately 3,000 hours of study), graduating with a title as Technical Professionals. Some courses may be four years in length (approximately 4,000 hours of study), and a student would graduate with the title of Professional.

Higher education in the form of universities began in Peru with the establishment of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos by the Royal Decree issued by King Carlos V on May 12 in 1551. The institute opened as the Sala Capitular del Convento de Santo Domingo in 1553. In 1571, it obtained Papal approval and in 1574 it received the name of Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. The precursor to the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, the "Estudio General o Universidad," was established in Cusco by the Dominicans on July 1, 1548. This institution was responsible for teaching evangelists for the new lands, and taught scripture, theology, grammar, and the Quechuan language.

In Peru, non-university education is provided by technological institutions, educational institutions, technical production education centers, and other facilities. These institutions are under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, which is responsible for providing their operating licenses.

By law Nº 28740, the National System of Quality, Evaluation, and Certification (del Sistema Nacional de Calidad, Evaluación y Certificación (SINEACE)) is a system that promotes the quality of the education in the country through the establishment of operating organizations which accredit the educational quality of the educations, from basic education to technical schools and universities.

Schools in rural areas are associated with less average knowledge of pupils.[3] There is a correlation of malnutrition and low achievement at school.[3] Income shows a positive correlation with education.[3]

OLPC stands for One Laptopschool Per Child. Together with Uruguay, Peru was one of the 2 countries in the world to have a full roll-out or just about [4]

.[5] A test deployment started in 2007 and was followed by a massive 800.000 deployment in 2010. Now, over 1 million OLPC XO's have been distributed to kids in Peru. The XO can also be transformed in a robot. The XO-laptop robot is named "Butiá".[6] The impact of the project on the quality of education is debated in the educational and development aid landscape.[7]